In the December 5th edition of the Salesmuser blog, we blocked some time to quietly reflect on our accomplishments in 2019, as well as over the past decade. Closing our eyes we looked down on future goals to see them already accomplished. Most importantly, while overserving the outcome of our completed dreams, we judged how it made us feel. Did it stir a deep sense of accomplishment? Did you tear up with the emotion overseeing yourself achieve a lifetime dream? 

In this post, we’re going to take another step in finding that giant, humongous, seemingly impossible dream and distill it down into a goal. Will it take a month, a year or the next decade to accomplish? The timing, logistics, money or the lack of it at this point doesn’t matter. Release the imaginary chains holding you back from leaping off into the deep end of your dream pool.

Venturing Off Into Blogging

March 14, 2019, was my first post for Salesmuser. This was an idea that had been brewing since at least 2012. The notebook dedicated to capturing notes about Salesmuser is dated from 2013. The Salesmuser website and my very first post, was actually public in 2014. The orphaned site remained with no visitors until 2019. Every so often (and especially during my annual dream list review), I’d see Salesmuser noted as being in progress. 

Each year I’d kid myself about getting the website ready for primetime and creating the content. Each attempt fizzled out as I  took on too many tasks without any plan or professional help. Starting my year-end review process in late November 2018, there it was again. Staring back at me was the genesis of a goal but not much more than that.

Doing Something Different

Finally, something clicked and I made a serious commitment to fish or cut bait on this goal. After years of futility, this time was going to be different. It was very clear this project would never get off the ground without professional help. The problems were simple. I needed a plan with the requirements for the website and my blog posts. This enabled me to estimate a budget to get the plan into action and completed.

Then, I used Upwork to find a WordPress developer. I shared my list of requirements document with the four developers and conducted thorough interviews. The goal was to gauge not only their development skills but their ability to communicate and willingness to work with me. Josh Kimmes is who I selected from the process.

Next, I used several resources including Upwork and LinkedIn to find editors to interview. Finding the right editor was a little more challenging process. Many people can do basic editing but I needed more help. Why I ever thought I could write is beyond me. Although I’ve never been diagnosed with dyslexia, my symptoms show themselves best when I write and read. Imagine re-reading a document four or five times and completely missing blatant and simple errors. 

What I read is not what’s written on the paper (maybe if my darn brain would stop racing five steps ahead it wouldn’t be so hard). I wanted an editor who wasn’t afraid to say that my writing was nonsense if need be. I was looking for professional tips to help me look professional. After doing six interviews and as many paid edits of one of my post, I selected Kristi Waterworth. Kristi is not only a pro but really fun to work with and occasionally brings some comic relief during the editing process.

“Hmm, make a plan and follow it. Now there’s a novel idea. Who comes up with these crazy ideas anyway?”

Petrified is an Adequate Description

Finally, as the launch day approached, my desire to procrastinate kicked into high gear. Self-sabotage is one of my specialties and I found myriad reasons to push out the date. Somehow, this time things were different, which allowed me to overcome my fears.  It makes me think of a really humorous graphic in MailChimp, the email tool I use for distributing the weekly newsletter. A hairy, sweaty hand with a finger extended about to touch the send button shakes with nervousness as the prompt asks if they’re sure they want to press send.

My hands and my head were sweaty leading up to pressing the button. It was truly frightening to put my post out in the ether for anyone to see. Writing is something I’ve never done well and some would argue that’s still the case. But the sense of accomplishment of writing my weekly post has meant more to me than just about anything I’ve done in my career. I committed to write 52 posts and then evaluate what to do next. This is the 38th weekly post and I’ve already got plans for more and different content for 2020.

Avoiding Excuses

My hope is that whatever time of the year you read this post, my story might be the nudge you need to give your own dream a go. Dreams don’t turn into goals until you write them down. Here are a few excuses  whyI didn’t start earlier with Salesmuser:

I needed to:

• Take a writing course
• Learn the details of WordPress
• Learn HTML programming
• Learn about search engine optimization (SEO)

There’s no end to the number of excuses I’m capable of drumming up. The key to remember is that they were nothing but excuses. Part of a plan existed but I wasn’t committed to it. My dream list is long and growing, which complicates things even further. The process of imagining the completion of a dream and how it stirs my emotions has helped to whittle down my list too.

Getting Started with Your Dream

Select the one thing you want to work on in 2020. The size and complexity of your dream doesn’t matter. Just pick one to work on. The other dreams aren’t going anywhere. They’ll be there when you’re ready. You might find, like I did, that some of your dreams (or maybe you call them “bucket list” items) just don’t matter as much anymore once you start on one of them.

Now, turn the dream into a goal. Write out a simple plan and determine some milestones to help you recognize progress. 

Don’t try to do it all yourself. You might need help depending on what you’re doing. A funny thing happens when you start paying for help. You get a whole lot more serious about your work. 

One last extremely important tip. Each week, block the dates and times you’re allocating to work on your goal. Defend these blocked times and avoid the temptation to chase things unrelated to your goal. If you’re stuck or if you’d like to share what you’re doing, I’d love to hear from you. Send a note to me a salesmuser@salesmuser.com.

P.S.  Oh, Yeah… My Gigantic, Scary and  Audacious GOAL

 I have a crazy and wildly audacious dream that starts in 2020. Rural towns across America are in decline. Urban centers continue to grow and offer broad opportunities to anyone willing to seek them. Many rural areas in Texas, where I’m located, have been dependent on the whipsaw nature of the oil and gas business since their founding. When things are good, everyone in town benefits. When things are bad as they are now, the source for high paying jobs evaporates. The middle class is very thin and those classified as poor dominate the landscape.

Ignorance is crippling to all.

Education is the great equalizer.

Hope is what everyone must have in their grasp.

My plan is to focus on one rural town and make it a grand example of what education and opportunity can offer. My dream is so enormous it will push me into areas where I’ve never ventured before. If I’m even partially successful, it could lead to a new and prosperous future for this town and change the course for generations in a very positive way for decades.

You might be wondering, how can one man in Texas move the needle even slightly to steer a different path for so many people? Well, me, too.

Why NOT me?

Why not you?